Lost In Space

An early entry from the science fiction stable of prolific producer Irwin Allen, Lost In Space was originally intended as a dramatic futuristic reworking of the classic Swiss Family Robinson. The series quickly descended into a sometimes unintentionally hilarious, high camp example of the notorious "monster of the week" pulp, which was a hark-back to the monochromatic days of the Saturday morning movie serial cliff-hangers.

The basic plot was simple; the experimental colony spacecraft transporting the Robinson family to a new world is sabotaged by an infiltrating enemy agent, causing them to crash-land on a remote planet deep in uncharted space. The core group of characters consisted of the five members of the Robinson family itself, Professor John Robinson, (Guy Williams) his wife Maureen, (June Lockhart) and their children Judy (Marta Kristen), Penny (Angela Cartwright), and son Will (Bill Mumy). The remainder of the Jupiter 2's small crew compliment was rounded out by handsome young male co-pilot (Mark Goddard) and the whining, scheming, cowardly saboteur, Dr Zachary Smith (played to comic, yet still sometimes sinister effect by Jonathan Harris), and the sophisticated B9 Robot (Bob May), named rather unimaginatively as simply "Robot".

Although supposedly remote, the Robinson's planet prison soon proved to be something of an unlikely stopping-off point for almost every space-faring alien and monster in the galaxy. As the series progressed and grew ever further detached from the hard edged, suspenseful, original premise, it was the mismatched trio of Will, Smith and the Robot who came to be the show's central focus.

The series originated in 1965 with the creation of an unaired pilot titled No Place to Hide, which remained unseen until it was broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel in 1993, introduced by June Lockhart. The pilot followed the voyage of the spaceship Gemini 12, tasked with carrying a single family on a 98-year mission to an Earth-like planet orbiting Alpha Centauri. After an unexpected collision with an asteroid, the ship was thrown off course, leading to the adventures of the Robinson family—portrayed as a harmonious and conflict-free crew. The robot and Dr. Zachary Smith were not aboard the ship, only being added after the series was commissioned for production by CBS, after they had turned down Star Trek.

Although credited as a "special guest star" in every episode, Dr. Smith quickly became the central figure of the series. Originally, the writers intended him to be a short-lived villain appearing only in the early episodes. Jonathan Harris, however, wanted to extend his role but found the character dull and worried that audiences would feel the same. To make Smith more engaging, Harris began rewriting his dialogue and reinventing the character, adopting a flamboyant, scene-stealing style and improvising witty, colourful lines. By the end of the first season, Dr. Smith had evolved into a self-serving coward whose mix of moral posturing, deceit, and alliterative insults—often directed at the Robot—became defining features of the show. This crowd-pleasing comedic duo became the sole source of genuine entertainment in an increasingly juvenile series.

Lost in Space is fondly remembered today—though largely for the wrong reasons—and stands as perhaps the most enjoyably successful of Irwin Allen’s ventures into television science fiction. The show remains iconic for the Robot’s oft-repeated catchphrases like “Warning! Warning!” and “It does not compute,” as well as Dr. Smith’s memorable exclamations, “Oh, the pain... the pain!” and “Never fear, Smith is here!”